The top tech and science breakthroughs of 2012

Electronic-photonic chips

For the last 30 years or so, no list of technological breakthroughs would be complete without at least one mention of IBM — and this year is no exception. In 2012, IBM made exciting leaps in the realms of quantum computing (more on that later) — but more importantly, at least in the short term, IBM has announced the first computer chip that integrates both electronic and photonic components on the same die.

The technology is called CMOS-integrated nanophotonics (CINP), and it essentially allows for electrical (transistors, resistors, capacitors) and optical (light emitters, photodetectors, waveguides) to be produced on the same piece of silicon, using a standard 90nm semiconductor process. This not only means that CINP chips can be cheaply produced in bulk, but they’re also very small and very fast. IBM says that it can fit 50 transceiver pairs (modulator/photodetector) on a 5x5mm die, for a total possible bandwidth of 1.2 terabits per second. Compare this to existing fiber-optic interconnects (found in supercomputers and data centers), which are expensive, bulky, and no where near as fast, and you can see why we’re so excited.

Moving forward, we should hopefully see IBM’s electronic-photonic chips in data centers and supercomputers in the next couple of years. It isn’t unreasonable to think that we may have consumer electronics — PCs, TVs, smartphones — equipped with affordable, high-speed optical interconnects in the next five years.

Optical computing, Neuroscience, and battery technology are definitely my top 3. I want to have bionic eyes powered by my heartbeat that can let me see lower wavelengths of light! It would be so cool…night vision made easy!

Cheaper solar cells are a welcome discovery – if only they’d still be cheap when they came to market! Someone has to put their foot down and decide to sell solar panels at tiny fractions higher than cost, or they’ll continue to be a niche market.

http://twitter.com/JustinCrowe6 JustinCrowe

like Mark replied I’m amazed that someone able to earn $7149 in 4 weeks on the network.

http://twitter.com/JustinCrowe6 JustinCrowe

….goo.gl/NpC2f (Click on Home)

Happy New Year!

andrew__des_moines

There appears to be an error in your li-air story: As the lithium picks up oxygen, it gets heavier — therefore its energy density should be calculated at discharge weight.

Battery ! If true, marks the end of the internal combustion/oil age, most certainly for China at least, who will combine this with electric bullet rains, and Thorium LFTR reactors to spark the Electron Age for all mankind. American society doomed to follow due to economic hardships, and the new Pan Eurasian Alliances born in these remarkable new sciences ! Cusp of a new electron age for all mankind. Battery car ballasts for the current and future electric systems will astonish all by increasing even existing system efficiencies, lower transmission losses, reduce copper wire demands, and alter lives as much as the well hidden super insulation in the U.S. Patent Hell momentarily. Very clever astoundingly higher IQ Asians likely to take this American primitive model to astounding heights! Mass producible dimensions, and huge cost reductions due to Quantities demanded. America simply does not have this kind of market this kind of population this kind of demand!

TyroneJ

Aside for all of the MIT solar stuff mentioned being nothing more than PR vapor, the real proof of how bad the due diligence was that went into this article is that the article touts Twin Creeks “Ion Cannon” (which is just an ion implanter) but forgot to mention that Twin Creeks went belly up and it’s assets sold to GT Advanced Technologies. Whoops!

Mark Schenk

What are “glass clippings”?

markr1957

And the discovery of colder than absolute zero (0K) doesn’t even make the top ten!

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